A Not So Subtle Christmas
by pixelatrix
Summary: A silly, fluffy holiday one-shot. Loosely related to my Subtle as a Steamroller fic. Vega/F-Shep - Rated M for Language.


**A/N:**

**This is a one-shot off my Subtle as a Steamroller series, a reference to something I mentioned in Chapter 7. Just silly, fluffy nonsense. Also, no idea where in the actual time line of the game this would fit because I can't remember what dates Shepard was in the brig. So…yea bugger that lol.**

**Rated M for language.**

**Not beta'd so any errors are my own.**

**Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and all that good stuff!**

**Read. Enjoy. Review. **

Commander Shepard, captain of the _Normandy_, the first human Spectre, a legend, a ghost, those had been Kaidan's words on Horizon.

"Fucker."

Shepard slid further down in the chair. An empty bottle of whiskey dangled from her right hand. It was Christmas Eve and she was the bloody ghost of Christmas brig. There had been no messages from friends, no presents and certainly no tree to put them under in any case. She had no family. The Alliance had been her family.

"Fuckers."

"You really need to expand your swearing vocabulary, Commander."

Shepard turned to find Lieutenant Vega in the doorway. "I keep telling you not to call me that. They took my rank and ship. Fuckers."

"Starting early, are we?" Vega plucked the empty bottle from her hand.

Shepard shrugged, "I was fresh out of eggnog."

"Admiral Anderson would like a moment," Vega tossed the bottle into a nearby trashcan.

"Fuck," Shepard stood a little unsteadily. "Why does he always make it sound like a request when it's really a command?"

Vega wisely decided to ignore the obviously rhetorical question.

Shepard walked over to the nearby sink to splash water on her face. She sighed deeply then followed the Lieutenant out of the brig towards the Admiral's office. She found herself wishing for a cup or pot of coffee to help sober up. The bottle of whiskey had seemed like a great idea but not so much at the moment. It was near impossible to curb sarcastic tendencies with her impulse control stolen by hard liquor.

"Feliz Navidad, Commander." Vega snapped a salute at her once they arrived at the office.

"Is it?"

Several hours later, Shepard trudged back to the brig escorted by another Alliance marine that she hadn't met before. Vega was nowhere to be seen. She stepped into her room only to stop just inside. She blinked at the barrage of colors and lights that hit her.

The room had been completely transformed. A Christmas tree with white lights and blue ornaments sat in the corner by the window. She moved closer to find that the ornaments were mostly little blue orbs with silver lines but here and there on the tree were mini replicas of the _Normandy_. She reached out to gently tap one with her finger. The soft lights bounced against the ornaments and filled the room with a cheerful glow.

There was a beautiful blue quilt draped across her bunk that had been a drab grey. Everything in the damn room was grey; it was damned depressing up until now. She glanced around to find that the table set with plates and glasses, though no food. She was bending down to touch the lone present under the tree when she heard the door open. She turned to find Vega with his arms loaded with plates of food.

"The meeting wasn't supposed to end so quickly," Vega set the food down with exaggerated care.

Shepard brushed aside a stray tear while the Lieutenant uncovered the plates. "Why? Why go to all this trouble?"

Vega stepped around the table towards her. "No one should be alone for Christmas. Besides, I thought I'd fleece you for some spending money."

Shepard glanced over to find the Lieutenant waving a deck of playing cards that he had pulled from a pocket. "I'd love to take your money."

"Food first," Vega insisted.

Shepard lifted the lid off her plate to find a mixture of all the best holiday treats imaginable. They dined on roast beef and roasted potatoes. Vega insisted that potato was the only vegetable that he recognized. He moved rather quickly on to the cookies and pies. She had to hoard a few on her plate for safety while they argued about green vegetables.

"Popeye ate spinach," Shepard pushed her empty plate away.

"Who?"

"Old cartoon that my dad used to watch," she kicked off her boots and leaned back in the chair. "So, Vega, how much does a lieutenant make a week?"

James grinned as he pulled out the cards and began to shuffle them. "I'm about to add a little to it."

Four hours later, the cookies that they were using for poker chips had diminished into crumbs. Vega was up by at least twenty credits and Shepard could barely keep her eyes open. It had been the best Christmas Eve that she could remember having in years.

"Stop eating my poker chips," Vega swatted Shepard's hand away from the few remaining cookies before revealing his cards. "I believe a royal flush beats whatever you are holding."

Shepard glanced outside ignoring the gloating Lieutenant. She stood and walked over to the window. "It's snowing."

Vega gathered the cards and slid them back into the box. "Feliz Navidad, Shepard."

"Happy Nativity to you too," she pressed her face up to the glass to get a better look at the falling snow. There was already a thick blanket of it over the roads and nearby buildings.

"I should let you sleep." Vega stepped away from the table and was gone before she could say thank you.

It wasn't until the next morning that Shepard remembered the present under the tree. Inside the rather crudely wrapped box, she found a single datapad. It contained messages from the _Normandy_ crew. Her friends and squad mates had all sent messages to Vega. They were all simple notes letting her know their thoughts were with her.

"Soft-hearted giants," Shepard smiled.

Later that day, Vega was once again escorting her to Anderson's office. They paused in a corridor just outside the door. Shepard glanced up to find a sprig of mistletoe. Giving in to a sudden impulse, she leaned up to place a soft kiss on the Lieutenant's lips. The jolt of electricity that flowed through her veins came as a complete surprise. It was if someone had lit a fire under her skin. From the look in Vega's eyes, it had been the same for him.

"Merry Christmas, James." Shepard spoke quietly before stepping into Anderson's office. "Thank you."

Vega stared at the door for several moments before walking away with a dazed look on his face. "Feliz Navidad, Lola."

The End


End file.
